Monday, May 25, 2009

Bike plein d'eau

I took my bike into the shop to have the chain changed and brakes adjusted, and picked it up today. My bill itemised the work done, and added one more item: "bike plein d'eau", no charge. The suitably-Montreal-bilingual note meant my bike was full of water.

Two weeks ago, my bike club rode over Jay Peak, Vermont and along the flank of Mont-Sutton, Quebec. The rain was quite heavy for the second part of the ride, and my bike stood out in the rain for a few hours during which I warmed up in a café inside and waited for some of the other riders to finish. Perhaps it infiltrated the seat and passed down the seat-tube into the bike-tube... and then the water stayed there for two weeks. Eeek!

The bike-guy told me my bike also had a screw at the bottom one can unscrew to drain the bike. I never knew! I wonder if this was something particularly thoughtful from Marinoni when they designed my touring-bike's frame, or if some/most/all other bikes have a drain-hole too.